12 Craigslist alternatives to sell stuff, find a job, or get laid

The scary part about loving something is that you must eventually let it go.

The internet learned that lesson the hard way in March when Craigslist announced that it would be pulling its personals section in response to Senate bill H.R.1865 which, in an effort to curtail online sex trafficking, says websites are responsible for unlawful behaviors made possible because of their personals sections. (Don't worry, the beloved Missed Connections section is still alive and well, and has a new home in Craigslist's community section).

The move shocked users everywhere, primarily because the site (and its personals) seemed like an untouchable staple of the early internet. As dating sites rose to prominence and hookup apps took over our romantic exploits, Craigslist personals seemed like a nostalgic artifact of our digital past.

The pulling of the personal ads made everyone stop and ponder: what would a world look like without Craigslist, which has helped users with everything from finding a job to finding a roommate? But fear not. While Craigslist has dominated the space, there are several platforms that offer the same services as Craigslist, if you know where to find them.

Here are 12 alternatives to Craigslist.

If you're looking to find housing

One of the most helpful Craigslist features is its housing section, which allows renters to post about openings for roommates, landlords to post about available rentals, travelers to post about sublets, and more. But if you're looking for alternative places to find housing be sure to check out:

SpareRoom

Image: SparRoom

Spare room is a roommate-searching platform that allows users to post "room wanted" ads and "room available" ads. The service also has expanded with an IRL event, Speed Roomating, in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles to connect a community of people looking for a housemate, making it faster and easier than ever to find someone to share your space with.

Ghoslight Housing

Image: Ghostlight Housing

Ghostlight Housing — formerly Gypsy Housing — is a massive Facebook group designed to help people find housing. The group is for actors so the housing offered tends to be short-term sublets or temporary rentals, as actors book tours are looking for people to finish out their lease.

But with over 200k subscribers, Ghostlight Housing can be a great way to find a place to stay, especially as you look to get your footing when you move to a new city.

Roomster

Image: Roomster

Roomster is a home-sharing website that was founded in 2003 with a simple mission: make finding a roommate easier. The site allows home owners to post listings of their space, and then allows users to sort through them, filtering out whether they're looking for a room, an entire place, a roommate, or a tenant.

The site also allows users to connect their social accounts to their Roomster profiles so that you can better verify that your potential roommate is actually who they say they are.

eBay

Image: Getty Images

This one seems obvious since the site is such a big player in the space, but eBay is a go-to platform for anybody looking to buy and/or sell things.

That could be because it's super easy to list items on eBay. To sell something eBay, just enter the category of item that you'd like to get rid of, and eBay will list similar items to yours, allow you to set the condition of your item, and then the platform will send pricing recommendations.

The site also boasts a "best offer" feature, which allows users to place a bid for an item other than the listed price. For shoppers, that means a greater ability to negotiate bargains for goods and for sellers, that means its easier than ever to get cash for an item you're trying to get rid of.

Amazon

Image: Amazon

With Amazon making it easier and easier to buy things (you can now buy stuff with the push of a button, after all), it's easy to forget that the digital commerce site also lets you sell things too.

For anybody who is looking to sell stuff on Amazon, the platform has two subscription plans — professional and individual. For individuals, the service is free, but the company charges $0.99 per item plus fees; and for professional, Amazon charges $39.99 a month plus fees).

That means whether you're a small business or just looking for some extra cash by getting rid of some of the junk you have lying around, Amazon can be the perfect tool to find a new marketplace to sell stuff.

Facebook Marketplace

Image: FAcebook

The joy of Craigslist's list "for sale" section was that almost anybody could post or respond to a listing. The downside is that almost anybody could post or respond to a listing... which means you could have total strangers showing up to your apartment (not necessarily the safest of scenarios).

For anybody looking for a little extra security, meet Facebook Marketplace. The tool allows Facebook users to buy and or sell items in their neighborhood. But the perk of Facebook Marketplace is that it connects to your Facebook profile and displays data that you've made public on the platform, which the platform hopes will make it easier to avoid spam and fishing.

If you're looking for a job

Know where and how to search, and Craigslist can be a job hunters go-to career board. With everything from writing gigs to medical opportunities, Craigslist hosted a bevy of job listings. But for anybody looking for an alternative, make sure to check out:

Glassdoor

Image: Glassdoor

Glassdoor has an interesting history — the site was founded in 2008, after the CEO of Zillow accidentally sent a sheet of his employees' salaries to the public printer instead of his private one, causing him to ask: why do we keep salary information secret? He passed that idea along to one of his former employees who then created Glassdoor.

The company is great for job searching because, in addition to listing job openings, the site allows you to also filter through reviews, giving you a better sense of what the company culture of the job you're looking into is like, what salary range should you be asking for, and if the current employees are happy there. All helpful information for anyone trying to find a new gig.

TaskRabbit

Image: TaskRabbit

Since it debuted in 2008, TaskRabbit has become almost synonymous with the phrase "gig economy." The platform is a same-day service app and site that connects job searchers with people looking for some help with odd-jobs.

To match people with jobs, TaskRabbit does two things. First, it allows job searchers, which they call "Taskers," to make a profile which lists their hourly rate. Then it allows clients looking for help to post a task request for everything from helping build furniture to waiting in line to put in a restaurant reservation. Taskers are able to select a job around them and if a client confirms a tasker and their rate, then parties are matched.

Moonlighting

Image: Moonlighting

Like TaskRabbit, Moonlighting is a site and app that connects job searchers with clients, but rather than complete tasks, Moonlighting curates longer-term freelance jobs. Moonlighting lists jobs ranging from website designer to wedding photographer, which means no matter what your speciality, you can find a gig that suits your skills.

If you're looking for a no-strings-attached boo thang to call your own

When Craiglist retired its personals section, the internet collectively mourned the loss of one of the OG places to find a quick fling online. With sections for casual encounters, strictly platonic, and misc romance, the site was a hub for anyone looking to meet others in their area. But fear not, if you're looking for an alternative to Craigslist personals, be sure to check out:

Happn

Image: Happn

If you love Craigslist's "Missed Connections," then Happn is the dating app for you. Founded in 2014, the app allows anyone looking for a date to see the profile of other users that they happened (see what they did there) to have crossed paths with. From there, users can decide if they want to chat with that person, or to move on.

Grindr

Image: Grindr

Image: Grindr

Sometimes people went on to Craigslist personals to find their one true love buuuuutttt other times people went on Craigslist to find their "one true just for right now."

If you're looking for an app to help you find a date, casual hook up, or more, check out Grindr. Since it launched in 2009, the LGBTQ app has expanded to include a digital news magazine, but at its core, Grindr allows users to list their sexual preferences and then displays how far users are away from each other, making it super easy to find someone up near you.

CasualX

Image: CAsualX

Image: CAsualX

As the name implies, CasualX is an app designed for people not looking for a relationship but desire a more casual experience instead. The app, which was founded in 2017, bills as "Tinder minus marriage-minded daters," which means that even though Craigslist personals are gone, you can still find people near you who are looking for a quick fling.

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